Apparatus and method for surveying premises of a customer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10614503-B2
Application number	US-201615381749-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2016
Priority date	Dec 18, 2015
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein for providing surveying premises of a customer. In one embodiment, a system for surveying premises of a customer comprises: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising a three dimension (3D) scanner and an image sensor, and a control circuit comprising a communication device configured to communicate with the UAV. The control circuit being configured to: receive, from a customer, a premises location, instruct the UAV to travel to the premises location to collect a set of data, form a 3D point cloud model of the premises based on 3D data collected by the 3D scanner of the UAV, identify one or more features of the premises based on the 3D point cloud model and image data collected by the image sensor of the UAV, and generate a recommendation to the customer based on the one or more features of the premises.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for surveying premises of a customer comprising:
an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising a three dimension (3D) scanner and an image sensor; and
a control circuit comprising a communication device configured to communicate with the UAV, the control circuit being configured to:
receive, from the customer, a premises location;
instruct the UAV to travel to the premises location to collect a set of data;
form a 3D point cloud model of the premises based on 3D data collected by the 3D scanner of the UAV;
identify one or more features of the premises based on the 3D point cloud model and image data collected by the image sensor of the UAV;
measure a dimension of the one or more features of the premises based on the 3D point cloud model;
select a plurality of parts for home improvement based on sizes of the plurality of parts for home improvement and the dimension of the one or more features measured based on the 3D point cloud model; and
generate, with the control circuit, a recommendation for the plurality of parts for home improvement to the customer.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the premises location is received via an in-store customer kiosk.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of data collected by the UAV comprises one or more of: 3D measurements, colored photographs, temperature measurements, lighting condition measurements, and humidity measurements.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the 3D scanner comprises a laser scanner.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the UAV further comprises a soil sampler, and the recommendation to the customer is further based on a soil sample analysis.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the UAV further comprises a communication device for communicating with one or more stationary sensors located at the premises.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the one or more stationary sensors comprise one or more of: a light sensor, rain sensor, humidity sensor, a wind sensor, a temperature sensor, and a motion sensor.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more features of the premises comprise one or more of a wall, a yard, a gate, a door, a window, a planter, a roof section, a gutter, a pillar, a beam, a fence, a furniture, a security device, and vegetation.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to generate one or more of: a product recommendation, a home service recommendation, a home improvement project recommendation, a security improvement recommendation, a lighting recommendation and a gardening project recommendation.

10. A method for surveying premises of a customer comprising:
receiving, from the customer, a premises location;
instructing, with a control circuit, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to travel to the premises to collect a set of data, the UAV comprises a three dimension (3D) scanner and an image sensor;
forming, with the control circuit, a 3D point cloud model of the premises based on 3D data collected by the 3D scanner of the UAV;
identifying, with the control circuit, one or more features of the premises based on the 3D point cloud model and image data collected by the image sensor of the UAV;
measuring a dimension of the one or more features of the premises based on the 3D point cloud model;
selecting a plurality of parts for home improvement based on sizes of the plurality of parts for improvement and the dimension of the one or more features measured based on the 3D point cloud model; and
generating, with the control circuit, a recommendation for the plurality of parts for home improvement to the customer based on the one or more features of the premise.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the premises location is received via an in-store customer kiosk configured to authenticate the customer.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the set of data collected by the UAV comprises one or more of: 3D measurements, colored photographs, temperature measurements, lighting condition measurements, and humidity measurements.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the 3D scanner comprises a laser scanner.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the UAV further comprises a soil sampler, and the recommendation to the customer is further based on a soil sample analysis.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the UAV further comprises a communication device for communicating with one or more stationary sensors located at the premises.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more stationary sensors comprise one or more of: a light sensor, rain sensor, humidity sensor, a wind sensor, a temperature sensor, and a motion sensor.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the one or more features of the premises comprise one or more of a wall, a yard, a gate, a door, a window, a planter, a roof section, a gutter, a pillar, a beam, a fence, a furniture, a security device, and vegetation.

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
generating one or more of: a product recommendation, a home service recommendation, a home improvement project recommendation, a security improvement recommendation, a lighting recommendation and a gardening project recommendation.

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• High Donald R
• Winkle David C
• Atchley Michael D

Classifications

• G01C11/00

  Photogrammetry or videogrammetry, e.g. stereogrammetry; Photographic surveying · CPC title

• G01B11/2518

  Projection by scanning of the object · CPC title

• G01N33/24

  Earth materials (G01N33/42 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06Q30/0631 Primary

  Recommending goods or services · CPC title

• G01C11/025 Primary

  by scanning the object · CPC title